The Innovation Complex: Cities, Tech, and the New Economy

What is the innovation economy, and how does it shape the city?  Join us for a conversation with Sharon Zukin and Alby Bocanegra on The Innovation Complex, a book exploring the forces at work in the evolution of the urban tech economy.  Guided by progressive tech, startup culture, and green trends, alongside traditional drivers of real estate and transportation, this innovation ecosystem of growth depends on sustained government support and private investment in neighborhoods. What is at stake for people, space, culture, and cities? 

The event will be accompanied by an interactive warm-up and refreshments. 

The Innovation Complex: Cities, Tech, and the New Economy, by Sharon Zukin, (Oxford University Press, 2020) will be available for purchase. 

Speakers:
Alby Bocanegra, Founder & Chief Future Officer, The Urban Futurist, Inc.
Sharon Zukin, Professor Emerita of Sociology and of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Brooklyn College and the Graduate Center of the City University of New York (CUNY)

Special Guest Comments
Adam Lubinsky, AICP, PhD, Principal/Partner, WXY, Associate Professor of Professional Practice, Columbia University Graduate School of Architecture, Planning & Preservation (GSAPP)
Andrew Rasiej, Founder, CEO at Civic Hall, Chairman Emeritus, NY Tech Alliance

About the Speakers:
Alby Bocanegra is an urban futurist and people-centered technologist. He is the Founder and Chief Future Officer of the consultancy the Urban Futurist, Inc. He is Senior Advisor to Charter Cities Institute, where he advances partnerships, engagement, and Africa’s NXT 50 Cities Coalition. For the World Economic Forum, Bocanegra advises on digital twins. In a recent role with Mastercard, Bocanegra led engagement with 335 cities under the City Possible framework. He led the creation of 24-Hour Cities Network, emphasizing night-time economies. Bocanegra is former Interim Chief Technology Officer for the Mayor’s Office of the City of New York. There, he co-founded the Cities Coalition for Digital Rights. For NYC, he delivered programs to support communities, including the Moonshots program, and expanded access to broadband, digital literacy, privacy, and security. Bocanegra began his career in the US Army, with continuing roles in veteran advocacy. In his spare time, he enjoys family, including a family business, and has been a DJ.

Sharon Zukin is Professor Emerita of Sociology and of Earth and Environmental Sciences at Brooklyn College and the Graduate Center of the City University of New York (CUNY). She has written extensively about art, architecture, and real estate in New York, from Loft Living (1982) and Naked City: The Death and Life of Authentic Urban Places (2010) to The Innovation Complex (2020), a critical journey through the city’s tech economy. Her book Landscapes of Power won the C. Wright Mills Award and Naked City received the Jane Jacobs Award for Urban Communication. Zukin also received the Lynd Award for career achievement in urban sociology. With the filmmaker Alice Arnold, she is developing a video project on SoHo, zoning, and the YIMBY/NIMBY conflict.

This event is offered in person; COVID-19 vaccinations and face masks are strongly encouraged for all visitors. Read our full Health and Safety Protocol here.